Theo sat cross-legged in his room, meditating. With each breath, he drew the mana in the air into himself, and as he exhaled, he released stale air. His eggs rested in his lap, joining in on the breathing exercises—much slower than him but participating nonetheless.
Suddenly, Grandmaster Smoke appeared silently in the room. He said nothing and simply waited. After a few minutes, Theo opened his eyes.
"Thank you for letting me finish," he said as he bowed.
"You're advancing in the Tiers," Smoke replied. "You'll learn it's not so easy to interrupt a cycle once it's begun. I'm here to inform you that your father plans to open the Crucible in two months. I know it was supposed to be your coming-of-age trial when you're older, but things have changed."
Theo had no words. He simply waited for Smoke to continue.
"Given what I witnessed in the forest that day, you're going to need training on dealing with monsters. A Monster Rank Tier 1 will be running around like flies on rotting meat."
"If that's the case, how are the other participants going to survive?"
"Excellent question. Here comes the other reason I'm here: you're going to lead them."
Theo stood up, stunned. "What?"
Smoke glared at him from the corner of his eye, but Theo did not falter. A smirk grew on his face.
"You are to be the leader of this organization in the future, so you have to be ready and able to lead people. This is your chance. Some in the group will be part of the fold, so you won't have to babysit everyone, but some participants are mortals, and you know how well they'll fare before the resurgence."
If only you knew how soon that time will come.
"We didn't abandon you completely with this responsibility, though. We're sending two Tier 3 agents with you. Granted, they have just entered Tier 3, but they are on the Monster Path and have completed the Ultimate Rank of Tier 1."
Theo remarked, "Do we really have resources to spare sending two mid-level staff with potential like that?"
Grandmaster Smoke took a breath. "Truth be told, this is the last Crucible for a while. After the resurgence, ambient mana in the realm will increase, and the monsters inside the small world will definitely evolve. That being said, the next time we open it, participants will most likely need to be Monster Rank Tier 2 minimum just to survive."
Theo's eyes widened. "You keep talking around the subject. Given all that's going to occur, can you please tell me — what is the resurgence?"
Grandmaster Smoke locked eyes with Theo and stroked his beard. He conjured a chair made of smoke and sat.
"To answer that question, I must go back — back to a time when this realm wasn't condemned by the Creator. During that era, the five primary races had their own realms: Dragons, Elves, Titans, Humans, and Demons. Other races either came into being naturally or as a product of something else. Truth be told, we don't know how many sentient races exist in this universe. To make matters worse, some are separated from their race due to special skills and blessings. Luckily, there is the race leaderboard—though its purpose I cannot reveal."
"Back to what I was saying: in those times, ambient mana was thick—so thick that mana could rain down even on the most barren places. Genius Rank was the minimum Tier anyone would reach. Truly, a blessed time."
"All this changed for the Human Race when they struck a deal with the Creator—one that, if you don't know the terms, would seem foolish on the Humans' part. But the Creator never makes one-sided deals. That's why we call upon his power when making deals and contracts."
"What did the Human Race ask for?"
"I don't know. Even with my Rank and seniority, I cannot access the records of what the Humans asked for. But I can tell you what the Creator did. He severed the connection our World Tree had with the primary one on Genesis. As a result, our World Tree went to sleep, and the mana production rate dropped dramatically. It didn't happen all at once, but we still felt it."
"Another effect was that nearly all High Humans died or disappeared. I mean almost all. I only know of about four still in existence in this universe—and that includes Stella."
"So the resurgence is simply the World Tree waking up and more mana flooding our realm. That doesn't explain the rush we're in."
"The World Tree has more abilities than just producing mana. It connects all realms—physically, spiritually, ethereally. With the connection between us and the other realms severed, we must physically traverse the distance between realms. Unless you're a large organization with immense resources or a Tier 8 powerhouse, you'll die before you get there."
"Also, because we lost our mana, the energy value of our realm decreased, and time runs faster here than in other realms. To them, we have been in recession for 1,000 years; to us, it's been a million years."
Theo spun the ring on his finger. "If that's the case, the gap between us shouldn't be that bad."
Grandmaster Smoke smacked him on the head. "What would make you think that? They have more mana, more resources, and deeper heritage. They have been fighting for 1,000 years while we've had to rebuild for a million. Plus, we have a Tier ceiling while they do not. A single Tier 6 from other realms could destroy this entire planet. Mind you, Tier 6 is only mid-rank in most important organizations; there are far more terrifying beings out there."
Standing up, Smoke said, "Right now, your concern should be the emissaries from other realms coming to test us. Don't let them think we're weak, or they'll strike. Just keep getting stronger, Young Master."
With that, he vanished.
Theo exhaled deeply, feeling the weight on his shoulders grow heavier. He crossed his legs again and took every moment to grow stronger.